How Effective Will Kyle Korver Be This Season?
To his standards, Kyle Korver had a down year in 2015-16. Will he be able to bounce back and up his production next season?
If you are anything like me, then it brings you great joy for summer to end. Yes, fall is right around the corner. Suddenly a trick-or-treater wants candy from you, but you’ve left a bucket of werthers originals on the porch because the Atlanta Hawks are live in action at Phillips Arena taking on the Sacramento Kings.
One of the players that you will watch is Kyle Korver, and he will be vital to the teams success. He is a seasoned veteran entering his 15th year in the NBA. Korver, 35, will be playing his fifth season with the Hawks.
It’s unclear whether or not he will be the starter, or providing a spark off the bench. Although, with the Hawks currently in win-now mode, and his outside shooting being a necessity, he probably will get the nod over the rookies. It’s a safe bet that he will start next to Kent Bazemore.
During last season, Korver went through stretches of games where he struggled to get it rolling with his 3-point shooting. The majority of his slumps occurred over the course of mid-December to the all-star break. This may be directly attributed to a procedure he had done on his ankle, the surgery on his elbow and altering the mechanics of his shot, all of which took place in the off- season. He felt the need to change his shot method to compensate for the additional power in his elbow following the surgery.
"“My challenge was that- I was trying to- and I don’t want to over talk about it- I was trying to develop a different shot. I had to relearn how to shoot.” Korver told Hawks.com."
As a long-range specialist, even the slightest tweak to the form can disrupt the flow of the shot. There was one seven game drought in December, when he made just seven of his 44 3-point attempts for 15.9 percent. He was especially frustrated on his wide open attempts, going a uncharacteristic 1-of-16 with a defender six-feet or more away.
The scouting report for opponents of course didn’t change with Korver on the floor. They tend to respect a shooter that has led the league in 3-point accuracy on three separate occasions, the highest of which was over 53 percent. He did revert back to his prior form in February and went on a hot streak to finish the season at 39.8 percent.
With Kyle Korver on the floor, the Hawks score 111 points and allow 100 points per 100 possessions. Without him on the floor, the Hawks score 98 points and allow 99 points per 100 possessions. Korver has a net effect of 12 points per 100 possessions. – espn.com
So despite the problems he had, the Hawks were a much better team with him on the court. To have the luxury of a clean bill of health for a full off-season should work wonders for Korver’s consistency behind the arch for this coming season. If Dwight Howard is successful commanding double teams, there will be more open opportunities than Korver is used to getting.
Last year Korver posted averages of 9.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in 30.0 minutes of action per contest. Since the Hawks have an abundance of depth on the wings, it’s a reasonable expectation for his playing time to decrease. Minus Teague and Horford, Coach Budenholzer will want to utilize Korver’s ability to stretch the defense quite often though.
My bold prediction for Korver is that he will reach double figures in scoring again, in less minutes per game. Also, he will enjoy converting his 3-pointers at a higher clip of .450 or higher. That’s a lot to ask of the old man of the group, I do believe he can make it happen.
Next: A Guide to the Atlanta Hawks in NBA 2K17
Information from basketball reference.com and SI.com was used in this report